Forward-Thinking Group of Community Bankers Led By Summit Technology Group Launches Lenders Cooperative to Drive Innovation in Small Business, SBA and Commercial Lending
MECHANICSBURG, PA (BUSINESS WIRE)
Recognizing the need for better innovation and solutions to support community bankers’ small business and commercial lending initiatives, Summit Technology Group (STG), a boutique consulting, services and software practice for community banks, along with a large number of its bank clients, announced the official launch of Lenders Cooperative as a standalone, client-owned platform.
Originally formed in 2019 as a subsidiary of STG, Lenders Cooperative provides a variety of loan solutions and shared services for banks, credit unions and fintechs offering small business (SMB), Small Business Administration (SBA), and commercial loans to their local businesses and communities. This includes a secure, cloud-based loan origination system that fully integrates with customers’ current systems, offering the same streamlined, end-to-end workflows that were created to support the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the pandemic.
“Today’s community financial institutions are often under tremendous pressure to stay relevant and competitive while still serving the needs of their local businesses,” said Ben Wallace, CEO of STG. “Summit Technology Group’s core mission is to help these institutions to focus on their true strengths and this same commitment has been baked into the DNA of Lenders Cooperative since its inception.”
In addition to its SaaS technology solutions, Lenders Cooperative also offers staff augmentation including credit underwriting, SBA Loan Service Provider (LSP) support, bank operations and white label call center support, all provided by seasoned experts with decades of proven commercial banking experience. With so many of today’s community financial institutions struggling to recruit and retain talent, these services allow them to staff up and down much more quickly in response to evolving market conditions, while providing them the flexibility to select the services they need to best meet their strategic goals.
Lenders Cooperative is unique within the fintech industry because it is built by lenders for lenders. In addition, Lenders Cooperative also allows interested financial services clients to obtain equity ownership offering them a unique value proposition as both customers of the platform and owners. This unique governance structure is designed to accelerate product development and create a flywheel of customer success.
“As an initial customer of Lenders Cooperative, and a past investor of STG, we have seen firsthand the many benefits of its innovative solutions and services, as well as a strong return on our capital,” said Matt Burke, CEO of Cape Cod 5, a lead bank partnering in the development and launch of the Lenders Cooperative platform. “We are excited to once again partner with STG and others involved in Lenders Cooperative, and we look forward to leveraging this impressive technology and the expertise of the team to modernize our own lending processes to better meet our customer’s needs and continue Cape Cod 5’s innovation journey in support of local businesses and our communities.”
“Customer expectations are constantly shifting for today's community financial institutions, especially for business and commercial loan clients, and it's critical they have the most robust, innovative products and solutions to support them and stay competitive,” said Loughlin Cleary, President and National Sales Director of Lenders Cooperative. “Lenders Cooperative’s unique model not only allows our customers to own the technology they use, but also provides the chance to a be a part of a growing community of bankers that are actively exchanging shared knowledge -- offering users a front row seat to today’s innovation as well as what’s to come.”
Leadership for the new entity will include:
- Cary Cooper, Managing Partner
- Loughlin Cleary, President & National Sales Manager
- Russell Morris, Head of Credit Underwriting
- David Tinsley, Head of SBA LSP Services
- Tim Holder, Head of Bank Operations
About Lenders Cooperative
Lenders Cooperative is a client-owned cooperative representing a community of over 140 and growing forward-thinking banking institutions leveraging best-in-class loan origination software coupled with shared services, including credit underwriting, SBA LSP support, bank operations and white labeled call center support. With solutions built and supported by veteran bankers, the Cooperative also offers customers a deep knowledge base, the ability to exchange best practices and a direct role in guiding the development and implementation of new technologies.
Lenders Cooperative helps community and regional financial institutions think differently on modernizing their lending solutions, improving internal workflow processes, and streamlining back-office operations so they can focus on their real strength - supporting their customers.